Reading the Detectives discussion

I'm slowly reading through the Bobby Owen mysteries by E.R. Punshon reissued by Dean Street Press and just thought he should really have his own thread!

Who else is reading these? I've kept in order so far, although most of the free ones are much later on in the series. I'm just finishing the 4th book, Mystery Villa, which I've enjoyed a lot so far.

One of the things I enjoy about Punshon is the humour - Mitchell is very funny in the first two books, though he seems to become a bit quieter in the next two.

I loved this passage which I just came across in Mystery Villa:

"Nor is Brush Hill a district in which restaurants abound, though fortunately there is no district in London in which teashops are not as frequent as quarrels in Test Match cricket. Into one of these establishments, Mitchell now, to Bobby's great content, led the way, and, though it was hardly what Bobby called a meal, still he did manage to assuage the fiercer pangs of hunger by such trifles as cold sausage, a pork pie or two, sardines on toast and so on."

However, my husband assures me quarrels are rare in Test Match cricket... maybe they were more frequent in the 1930s?!

Mystery Villa was published in 1934, so just after the Bodyline controversy in the Australian Tests in 1932/3

Ah, that explains it, Rosina, thanks! I remember watching a mini-series about the Bodyline controversy.

Glad to know that Judy. I'm also pretending to read E. R. Punshon, if possible in order, but first I will read Nero Wolfe mysteries. I liked it a lot since our group reading.

I intend to read more of these books. Like always,it is just finding the time to fit them in.

Marcus. I like to have a few series on the go at once - I'm also reading the Nero Wolfe books and you've reminded me I must get back to them soon.

Jill, I know what you mean about time - there are a lot of series that I've started and would love to carry on with, but have lost track of somewhere along the way! I think I'll keep going with these because I have so many of them on my Kindle, though...

From the 4 books by Punshon I've read so far, I think there are similarities between him and J.S. Fletcher - both write in a dry, humorous style which reminds me of my favourite Victorian novelists, and both have some great characters. But Fletcher never did a series like the Bobby Owen one, which follows a detective right through his career.

I've just suggested a buddy read of Information Received - if you are interested, please post to say so in the thread for organising buddy reads:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Will you follow on from the one we have already had
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Jill, this will be a new buddy read, but we can link to the previous thread - as I think we did when reading A Man Lay Dead, which we did for a second time as part of the Ngaio Marsh challenge.

Judy wrote: "Jill, this will be a new buddy read, but we can link to the previous thread - as we have done with A Man Lay Dead, which we did for a second time as part of the Ngaio Marsh challenge."

Whoops, just checked back and I'm not sure if we did actually link to the previous read of A Man Lay Dead! But anyway yes we can link to the previous read - thanks, Jill.

As we will no longer be reading this author as buddy reads, I will continue to read on, as and when I can fit them in, as I have so many of these books. Hoping others do likewise.

Like Jill I own many of the Bobby Owen books and plan to read them but can't commit to a schedule.

See you in this thread!

I will probably read those I have and look out for bargains for the others. Having read the first in the series where the foundation and background for the characters is established, I'm not feeling compelled to read them in order.